1. Assess the situation to determine the cause.
2. Drink some water and eat something salty.
3. Elevate your legs and put on a pair of compression stockings.
4. Take any missed medications.
5. Pump your feet or dance around on your hands before standing up.

Assess the situation. If this happens often, it may be chronic. Consider the health of the person at hand. Is this a result of sickness? Was anything unusual going on at the time that could have had a lowering effect on blood sugar levels? What's more, stay relaxed. There may not be a bigger problem at hand.[1]

You will need to ascertain if the symptoms point to dangerously low blood pressure. Generally the symptoms include dizziness, lightheadedness, unsteadiness, dimming or blurring of vision, weakness, fatigue, nausea, cold, clammy skin, fainting, and pale skin.[2]

Insist the patient drink plenty of water or other fluids. When blood volume is increased and dehydration is alleviated, hypotension may disappear.[3] Sports drinks containing electrolytes return lost minerals to the body, too. Drinking these or water will keep dehydration from happening.

Another way of spiking blood pressure (temporarily, that is) is to drink caffeine. Scientists aren't quite sure how or why it does this, but it's thought that it either blocks hormones that widen your arteries or pumps up your adrenaline levels, directly causing a rise in blood pressure.[4]

Provide something salty for the patient to eat. The excess salt helps to make blood pressure rise. That's why heart patients are usually on low-sodium diets.

Sodium is known to raise blood pressure (and sometimes greatly), so doctors generally recommend limiting it. Check with your healthcare professional before you up your intake -- if you consume an amount that's not good for you, it can lead to heart failure (especially if you're older).[3]

Think of circulation needs in relation to blood pressure. Raise the legs and put on compression stockings, if available. These are the same stockings that people use to reduce varicose veins and they're just as good for reducing blood pooling up in the legs.[3]

Determine whether or not the patient has missed necessary medications. The problem could easily be failure to follow doctor's orders. Many medications lower or heighten blood pressure, even if just as a side effect. Certain combinations can also be more powerful than when taken alone.

Give any missed medications to the patient. Make sure they (or you as the case may be) understand the importance of not missing doses. Or not taking too much!

In addition to their regular meds, know that acetaminophen (Tylenol) and certain anti-inflammatories and anti-depressants can also spike blood pressure levels. If you have some readily available, consider adding it in this instance.[5]

Pump your feet and dance around on your hands a few times before standing up. It's common for even healthy individuals to experience a dip in blood pressure when they rise after long periods of sitting. When going to stand (especially upon getting out of bed), sit up straight first and rise slowly.[6]

If you're able, get regular exercise to promote blood flow. If it's a chronic issue, keep up the exercise and eat small meals often.

Community Q&A

It depends on your individual situation, so you should contact your primary doctor before you do anything. High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for heart, brain, and kidney disease. However, for some elderly persons. having low blood pressure may be more dangerous.

My blood pressure is 71/46 with a pulse of 117. I'm a female, almost 60. Is my blood pressure something worry about, or just a little low?

Answered by
wikiHow Contributor

Your BP is low. Try drinking water mixed with a 1/4 teaspoon of salt. When you raise your BP, your pulse will begin to slow down. The reason your pulse is fast is because it's trying make up for your low blood pressure. See a doctor, and stay calm.

It all depends on your age, but generally speaking there are three levels of high blood pressure, the normal rate, and one stage of low blood pressure. "Good" blood pressure is anything ranging from 90/60 to 120/80, but a little leeway is fine. Anything below 84/55 could be too low. On the higher side — again, depending on age and medication use — anything above 140/90 is concerning and anything over 170/110 can be life threatening and should be treated at a hospital immediately.

Put a teaspoon of salt or a black salt in a water, stir well and drink. If that doesn't help, seek medical advice, especially if this is extremely low for you (for some people, that's actually their "normal").

That is a good question and needs to be made on an individual basis in consultation with your primary doctor. It is known that high blood pressure is a significant risk factor for heart, brain, and kidney disease. For some elderly persons, however, the risk of symptomatic low blood pressure is not worth the benefits.

Is there a point in time where the patient becomes hypertension free or is it a lifetime illness that can only be managed?

Answered by
wikiHow Contributor

If it is at early stages, then yes the patient can become hypertension free. However, if your blood pressure is at a very high stage regularly, then it may be a lifetime illness that requires constant management.

Is there a way to consume caffeine to help raise my blood pressure without it working as a diuretic?

Answered by
wikiHow Contributor

You can add salt into ground coffee to make it smoother and less bitter. In your case, you would probably need to add 1/2 teaspoon per 8 ounce cup of coffee. The salt will increase the osmotic pressure, thereby disallowing the fluid from entering the rest of the body and helping the bloodstream to hold on to fluid.

Quite to the contrary, it decreases with warmer weather. The change, however, is normally so slight (about 1mmHg change in systolic for every 10 degrees change in Fahrenheit temperature) that one would not be aware of it.

Reader Success Stories

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Delia Rimes

Jun 14

"I m normally have high blood pressure, and I take two meds for that (along with another 30-ish). Every now and then it will take a nose-dive out of nowhere. On two separate occasions, it will do this while I sleep, even to the point of passing out. Tonight was the second time. It is very scary to pass out while you sleep. I also have obstructive sleep apnea. When I was growing up, my mom would pour cola syrup into a cup of crushed ice and I'd sip on it. I also used to carry smelling salts."..." more

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Richard S.

Apr 9, 2016

"I tried a few of these suggested steps. After a little while, I didn't feel 100% but I felt better. I sat up, ate some salted chips and peanuts, and kept drinking water to stay hydrated, but I'm still getting sensations in my feet. I might get those compression socks and I'm going to try working out. Whoever created this, thank you. You're doing a great service to the world!"..." more

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Donna Johnson

Jun 30, 2016

"The recommended steps made me understand that I was not drinking enough water. I knew that but didn't realize how badly it would affect my body. We should all drink up to 100 oz. of water a day to stay hydrated. Great resource, I'm glad I found it. Best of health to all."..." more

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Anonymous

Jun 20

"Have had low pressure for about 9 months with palpitations. Went to see a cardio doctor today. He told me some of what you said, but your display was a helpful review. Not excited to eat more salt. My feet and hands swell. But your advice was helpful."..." more

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Anne R.

Sep 18

"My BP was 104/62 ; I was feeling very woozy. On your site others had even LOWER numbers so I was relieved that I was probably not in immediate danger; to see remedies for immediate relief, I was encouraged; I am following advise right now. thank you!"..." more

"My aunt had a very low blood pressure during a bout of diarrhea and fever. Gave her a glass of water with 1/2 tsp salt to drink. Also mixed coconut water with electrolyte, which revived her soon."..." more

JB

Joan Baguley

Mar 30, 2016

"Kept me from being rushed to the ER as I had been in the past! Thanks so very much! My blood pressure is going down a lot lately and I'm sweating, although my body temperature is as low as 93."..." more

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Amaey Paradkar

Jun 18, 2016

"My mother is a hypertension patient. Due to an overdose of medication, her blood pressure got a little low. This wikiHow helped a lot, especially the caffeine and raising legs ideas."..." more

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Deedra Bias

Aug 20

"I have both high and low blood pressure! My doctor prescribed meds to bring it down but nothing to make it rise. Having support from others helps me in so many ways. Thank you."..." more

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Lena Wasley

May 31, 2016

"I have a heart problem, so my blood pressure is low most of the time, and I have very cold hands and feet. It's nice to know there's something I can do for myself."..." more

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L. A.

Aug 29

"I gave salt and plenty of water, raised his legs up and gave iced tea. After about fifteen minutes, his blood pressure started to become more stable. Thank you."..." more

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Tom Del Mastro

May 5, 2016

"My blood pressure was 88/58 and I had most symptoms associated with a sugar low. My wife's concern was how to bring it up safety. Thank you for your help."..." more

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Anonymous

Jan 3

"I'm just feeling dizziness, cold, headache, etc. I didn't know what was going on with me, but I was once told that my blood pressure is low."..." more

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Ken Wood

May 31, 2016

"Your help has made me feel more relaxed. My blood sugar had dropped to 40, my blood pressure was 114/43. I had also been doing yard work."..." more

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Anonymous

Jun 4

"I wanted to know why I am cold while others around me are not. This article helped me raise my blood pressure to help me to be warm."..." more

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Judy Bennett

May 11, 2016

"I increased my salt just a little and I drank more coffee. Doing the little exercise before standing up also helped a lot."..." more

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Dwijita Sikdar

Mar 20, 2016

"I had very low blood pressure, but the remedies given here helped me very much to recover my blood pressure level."